Hope's Boomerang Throwing
by OMFGhehehe
Summary: Hope decides another path than the one he took in Final Fantasy XIII. He follows his dream he's had for a long time, inspired by his mother. Will he achieve his goal? Will his mother be proud?


A/N: My own idea~! YAY~! I hope you laugh and enjoy~! This takes place instead of Final Fantasy XIII.

* * *

"Bye mom!" Hope yelled before exiting the house. He waited for a, "bye sweetie," before he actually left. Life was good for Hope, he was fourteen and he had a great education and the best mother in the world. Hope was very content but he felt like something was missing. It most definitely wasn't routine that was missing because every day he went to school, came home and did his homework or studied, and then any extra time would be spent with his mother. She sometimes made him a new boomerang and they would throw it around the yard for a long time.

That was how Hope decided he wanted to throw boomerangs for a living. He didn't care if it was to test them or if it was a sport, he just loved throwing boomerangs.

"Hi Hope," Hope had been too lost in thought to realize he reached his locker at school and the girl next to him, Alyssa, was trying to start a conversation.

"Hey Alyssa," Hope greeted, finally acknowledging her. His remember what his mother said. She'd said that you should never be rude to someone because someday you might be able to use that person.

"Do you want to hang out after school, all we have today is our last final exams," she smiled sweetly and looked at him expectantly.

"No thanks," Hope wished she'd go away after that but no such luck.

"Why not you never hang out with me!" Alyssa whined grapping Hope's arm.

"I have to practice my boomerang throwing," Hope replied and Alyssa just sighed at his words.

"You always do that, it'll just be for one day," the school bell rang and Hope turned to head to class. Alyssa followed him to class. She seemed to drop the subject which Hope was happy for, until their first class was over. "Why do you practice throwing your boomerang so often?" Alyssa had been wondering that for a while. Hope looked at her dead seriously. He had been thinking over why he did it so often all first hour.

"I want to do it in the Olympics," Alyssa looked at him uncertainly. Was he serious? When she saw no sign of a joke she determined he was, in fact, being serious.

"You do know that it's not a sport right?" Alyssa inquired. She kind of wished she hadn't because the moment she did Hope's look of joy turned into a look of a child when their first goldfish died of suffocation in the little plastic bag they give you at the fair.

"Well it could be," Hope said. He had gone too far in his dream to let it go. Actually he wondered why he didn't just drop out of school. It's not like he will need an education. "You dad is in charge of regulating sports right?" Hope asked. Alyssa nodded; she was a little slow on what he was getting at. "So he can make it a sport." She internally face palmed. Who dreams of throwing boomerangs this bad? Especially as a sport in the Olympics. IT's not like those things really work. Or maybe it was new slang she didn't know about.

"I will not see if he will, that's ridiculous," Alyssa said. She wanted Hope to forget about boomerangs and focus on her. She thought she was pretty, smart, and fun. Even if she was a bit nerdy… so was Hope!

"Please?" Hope whined. She shook her head thinking that maybe he would drop it. "Okay then." She wondered why Hope would admit defeat that quickly. He was hers this evening!

"Do you wanna hang out tonight?" she tried again.

"I told you I'm going to practice my boomerang throwing, didn't I already tell you?" Hope asked.

Alyssa would not back down, "Tomorrow then."

"No, I'm going on vacation with my mother," Hope seemed to think of an excuse for every day!

"Where at?" Maybe she could convince her dad to go to the same place.

"It's a surprise," Hope lied. He knew he was going to Bodhum but he knew Alyssa just wanted to tag along.

"Oh," her face fell for a brief second before lighting up again. Maybe asking straightforward would yield the best results. "Well can I come to, I'll get the idea approved by both our parents." Alyssa ran off before Hope could protest. Maybe there'd be a swimming pool where she can show off her new bikini. She was getting excited just thinking about that.

"Dad, can I go on vacation with Hope and his mom," Alyssa asked the second she got home. She'd resort to begging if needed.

"No sweetie we are busy," her dad was a smart man and he could tell Hope didn't enjoy being around Alyssa because her boldness made him uncomfortable. A doorbell rang before Alyssa could make her dad feel guilty and let her go.

"Hello Nora," Alyssa's dad warmly greeted Hope's mother, Nora. "What brings you here today?" He moved out of the doorway to let Nora and her son in.

"Well, we'd like to discuss something business related," Nora said urging her shy son to tell why they were here. Alyssa smiled, she was going on vacation!

It took Hope a while to work up the courage to ask but finally, he did. Alyssa was sure it was going to be about the vacation. Hope did listen to her! "Will you make throwing boomerangs an official sport?" Alyssa's jaw dropped. He can't be serious.

"Dad, I don't think that's a good idea," Alyssa whispered. She knew her dad was in love with Nora and she hoped reason would get in the way of that love.

"Honey there's no problem with it," he said. Alyssa was ready to bash her head into the wall. "I think that sounds like a good idea young Hope. Will you be in Bodhum for the Olympics?" Hope nodded.

"I told you Alyssa," Hope taunted, "I'm going to go practice right now!" Hope skipped off dragging his mother. Alyssa was about to bitch at her dad but Hope came back in. "Thank you." Then he was gone once more. Alyssa gritted her teeth. She was annoyed, very annoyed.

"Dad, he doesn't do anything but throw his boomerang around all day, nobody does it but him!" Alyssa growled when her dad didn't respond. He was probably fantasizing about Nora. But then she realized something Hope was going to go to the Olympics she could see him there.

Hope, on the other side of town, was having a blast. He was working twice as hard. His mother had to leave to go to a job interview though. He sighed. It was nice but if his mom got the job she wouldn't be able to help him any longer. He was so caught up in thinking he didn't realize he hit someone in the face. "Oh hi Alyssa," he said already trying to think of an excuse to leave.

"Hi Hope," Alyssa had thought of a way to get closer to her Hope, she was going to throw boomerangs too! "I was wondering if you'll teach me to throw," Alyssa thought the way she'd said it sounded cool so she smiled smugly.

"Actually, I need to go pack." Hope ran inside the house and locked the door. He proceeded to lock all of the windows and shut the curtains… Even the backdoor was locked.

"Hope let me in! I'll help you pack!" Alyssa called from the front door that she was banging on.

Hope decided to ignore her and pack stuff for the trip to Bodhum. He made sure to pack his favorite boomerang. He was about to put it in his suitcase but quickly decided it would break so he chose to put it on his bedside table to put in his pocket the next day. He was excited for the trip.

"Nora I'm home!" Hope's eyes widened. His father was home! Did that mean that he was going on the vacation too? Hope panicked because he didn't want him to go. Whenever Nora was around his father she ignored Hope completely. One day Hope didn't even get to eat because he was grounded for trying to get his mother's attention.

Hope decided to lock his room door and try to sleep off his new found anxiety. '_You can just hang out with some friends you make in Bodhum'_ Hope tried to tell himself. But who was he trying to kid? He never could make any friends. That night Hope cried himself to sleep.

* * *

"Hope we have to go, the plane is going to leave in four hours!" Nora's urgent voice woke Hope up from his sleep. "Come on!" She pulled Hope up. "Get dressed and let's go your father has already loaded all the bags." So he was going… Hope quickly got ready and rushed out the door. But not before grabbing his boomerang he called Nue. His father was waiting in the car with an impatient look on his face.

"Let's go already," Bartholomew said. Once they were settled they headed to the airport. The whole car ride Hope was ignored by Nora. He didn't really want to go anymore. He wished he had let Alyssa come.

"Okay we're here," Bartholomew said. He got out of the car and started grabbing all his and Nora's bags. Hope grabbed his own. It was heavier than he expected and he struggled to keep up. Soon he could no longer see his parents which was really odd. What could he do now? He started heading in the direction he thought they had went. While going he tried to act calm and not look anyone in the eyes. Soon he made it to the baggage check. After he went through he asked one of the nice airplane people where he would find his flight.

"It's at gate D-47 and will be boarding… oh it's currently boarding. You better hurry I'll make a call." Hope went as fast as he could muster and he only tripped approximately sixteen times.

"Oi, you the kid gettin' on ta the flight ta Bodhum?" the flight attendant asked. Hope nodded and the man helped him get settled. He asked for his ticket and Hope realized the lady asked for it, the one who helped him earlier, and he didn't have his ticket. The man said it was okay and put Hope in a first class seat.

"So you headin' ta Bodhum ta watch that Olympic thing?" the guy asked. Hope nodded. "I hear that game regulator says there's gunna be a new event." Hope was really happy about that but he wanted to know if his parents were on. When he asked the guy told him nobody that matched his descriptions got on. Hope decided he would take a nap and worry about it later. He didn't wake up until people were getting off the plane.

He followed the people off the plane and there was a girl with pink hair in front of him. He thought it was so cool but he wouldn't approach her because she was scary. Hope sat on a bench and waited for his parents but they never came. There was also a couple on the bench. One had pink hair while the other was blond. He was like seven feet tall too!

"Did you get off the flight from Palumpolum?" the pinkette asked. Hope's eyes widened when the stranger asked him the question but he decided she looked nice enough so he just nodded.

"You're scaring him Serah," the man threw his arm around Hope's shoulder. "You all alone?" Hope shook his head. The guy started talking to him about random stuff. Hope soon learned the couple were about to get married and Serah's sister, Lightning, was coming for the wedding. He also learned that the buff guy's name was Snow.

"It does not look like Lightning nor your parents saw us," Serah said, "We've been here for an hour. You can see them in the Olympics tomorrow but tonight you are staying with us!"

Hope agreed without argument. He didn't want to be alone the entire night.

Serah made Hope a bed; her house was only three bedrooms: the guest room, now Snow and Hope's room, Lightning's room, and her own room. He had to sleep on the floor but he didn't mind. After spending a lot of time with the couple Hope felt more comfortable around Snow.

"Goodnight kiddo," Snow said ruffling Hope's hair. Serah appeared at the doorway and motioned for Snow. "I'll be right back." Hope was curious and almost went to eavesdrop but he was too tired. He tiredly made his way to the bed made for him.

* * *

Hope awoke to a nice warm bed. This bed had a really nice blanket. He snuggled into it and it gripped him tighter… Wait what kind of blanket moves? He wearily opened his eyes and saw an empty bed on the floor. Had Snow slept with Serah? Hold on… that bed was for…

"Morning Hope," he heard from behind him. Hope turned around and his face met Snow's chest. "Today we're going to the Olympics right?"

Hope gave and affirmative and cuddled Snow more. He was comfy and he didn't want to get up. Normally Hope would've pushed away all physical contact but he missed his mom too much and he was feeling lazy.

"Boys we are leaving in an hour. I made breakfast!" Serah called.

Hope decided to get up and eat breakfast because they were going to help him find his parents and he wanted to have the energy to hang out with her, although, Snow and Serah would be a lot more fun to hang out with. He finally got up and went downstairs for breakfast and afterward he hurried up to get ready. Maybe he could sign up for the Olympics.

"You sure seem excited," Snow said. He laughed at Hope whose shirt was on backwards, pants unzipped, and his socks didn't even match. "We aren't leaving for another ten minutes. Go fix yourself." Hope looked at the state he was in and went to go find matching socks.

"Now you look ready," Serah giggled putting her hands over her face as she did it. The white cloth on her arm was slipping and Hope noticed she had some sort of tattoo. Serah didn't seem to notice but Snow did and he quickly fixed it. But being the curious boy he was, he had to ask about the tattoo.

Snow looked like he was about to say something but Serah put a hand on his arm to stop him. "I'm a l'Cie." Hope had heard about l'Cie and he gasped, instantly backing away. He was sure he was going to be eaten. That's what l'Cie did right?

"I'm not going to hurt you," Serah cooed, "Not all l'Cie are bad people." Hope wanted to believe her but it scared him. The rational part of his brain took over and told him she had loved ones that cared about her… How could she be evil?

"I'm sorry Serah, I trust you," Hope said embarrassed. He moved to stand next to Serah to prove he wasn't scared. If she tried something Snow could protect him.

"Ready to go?" Snow asked. Hope nodded along with Serah. They headed off to the Olympics. Hope stayed close to Snow, very close. Much to Hope's disappointment the sign-up sheets weren't there. Serah explained to him that only the very best athletes were allowed to enter. Hope was crestfallen but still tried to locate his parents.

The events were boring to Hope. He either looked for his parents or watched Snow. He made the funniest expression while watching the events.

"We would like to introduce a new event. Hope Estheim please come to the stage." Snow and Serah looked confused. Hope walked calmly with lots of swag to the stage and pulled out his boomerang. Everyone was wondering how he fit it in his pocket because it was almost as big as him. "Our new event is Boomerang Throwing." There was a confused cheer throughout the crowd. Hope could pick out Snow's voice. "There will be judging on how far the boomerang is thrown, how well it comes back, and how well the thrower catches it." Hope took a deep breath. "Okay throw it Hopie." Hope threw his boomerang as hard as he could and it soared through the air proudly. Hope was worried he wouldn't be able to catch it though. When he caught it he was propelled backwards. The crowd went wild and the judges never judging something so strange gave him a perfect score. Nobody would ever beat his record.

"There it is folks; this event will be in the summer Olympics every year!" Hope was awarded a gold medal and he went to see Serah and Snow, who congratulated him.

"Ready to go home?" Serah asked. Hope was confused… His home was far away. Did they find his parents?

"Of course he isn't," Snow said, "he wants to go to the bar to celebrate," Snow gave Hope a slap on the back which made him stumble forward.

"Snow, he's younger than me!" Serah screeched. She started to pull Hope to her but he flinched and went to Snow because he was afraid of her eating him. Serah misinterpreted this action and huffed, "Boys are always finding an excuse to get drunk. Don't call me when you are too drunk to get home." Serah stomped towards her house.

"C'mon Hope, you will get used to her," Hope wondered why he was being treated as part of the family and continued to think about it while Snow dragged him to the bar. He ordered three shots of tequila for each of them. Hope didn't want to drink it but Snow convinced him it wasn't strong. After his shots he was more than tipsy.

"I wanna be just like a pretty pony!" Hope squealed in delight as he and Snow were walking back to Serah's house. Hope started galloping and Snow snickered before picking Hope up and carrying him home. Neither of them were anticipating Lightning to be home. "H-hey sister," Snow said uneasily.

"You're finally home, is this Hope?" she asked. As she went to examine the boy she didn't expect him to giggle.

"Hi unicorn, I'm a pony and this is my friend pedo bearrr," Snow knew what was coming and dodged Lightning's punch.

"You got him drunk, that'll leave a good impression, and you and Serah are his parents now!" Lightning's face was red with anger.

"Wait, when did we adopt him?" Snow asked. Serah had something about it but Snow was too wrapped up in the Olympics.

"Didn't Serah tell you?" Lightning pinched the bridge of her nose. "Hope's dad was a threat to the government so I had to kill him. His wife wasn't cooperating so they were both killed. That's why I was in Palumpolum. Nora, his mother, said she had a son so I told Serah and Serah wanted him," Hope was giggling and rambling about ponies, unicorns, and bears throughout the entire explanation so he never heard any so it.

"I see," was Snow's only reaction. He didn't really comprehend what was said because the world was spinning very fast so he decided to drag Hope upstairs and go to bed. Hope didn't complain when he was pulled to Snow's chest.

* * *

Hope awoke to a great headache. He was used to getting headaches but never had he had one this bad. He groaned and got out of bed. There were wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen but he figured he'd wake up Snow.

"Hi Hopey," Snow said grabbing his forehead. Hope glared at him. "What? Don't you like your nickname?"

"It's Hope," he said stubbornly, "let's go have breakfast." Hope headed down while Snow headed to the bathroom. While he was going down the stairs he almost bumped into Serah. "Sorry Serah." He waited for her to say it was okay but she never did. Hope looked up and noticed it wasn't Serah but it was her sister. "Uh, I mean Lightning." She ignored him and continued upstairs. Hope headed to the kitchen.

"Good morning Hope," Serah smiled warmly. She set down a plate of all kinds of muffins which were warm from being taken out of the oven seconds ago. Hope decided to indulge himself and he ate a Snow sized portion. Serah giggled at this.

"Are we going to look for my parents toady?" Serah's smile vanished. That left Hope to wonder what he did wrong.

"Hope, we need to talk," Serah felt bad that she was delivering the news but Lightning wasn't very sensitive to others' feelings. "Your mother and father were assassinated," Hope gasped and Serah gave him a moment before she continued talking, "but Snow, Lightning, and I were wondering if you would like to stay with us."

Hope was upset about his mother dying, but Serah did act a lot like her… Maybe he should stay. It's not like he had anywhere else to go. He could either stay here or become an orphan.

"I'd like to stay here," Hope thought it was very generous of the couple to let him stay and not charge him anything in return. He would pay them back when he made millions.

"I'm glad you accepted. Help yourself to some more muffins," Serah said cheerfully. Not too long after Hope gobbled down at least ten muffins Snow and Lightning joined them at the table.

"So you're staying with us kiddo?" Snow asked. Hope nodded. "Well I guess we'll have to get another bed in my room." Hope's eyes widened. He would have to pay them back for the bed too! At least he wouldn't have to wait long for money though because later that day a check came in the mail. It was a fifty thousand gil award for showing off the new sport. Hope figured he'd be rich in about… two years.

* * *

EXTRA ENDING

* * *

Hope finally got his dream job and taught people how to throw boomerangs correctly. Now, there was a boomerang-throwing team in almost every city on Cocoon and one from Pulse. He, of course, coached them all. This allowed him to make billions of gil so he paid back every bit of gil he owed Serah and her family. At first they didn't accept it but he made sure they got the gil anyway.

Since Hope was smart he put most of it in the bank and only spent what he needed. He got lots of interest and now is richer than Bill Gates. He still lived with Snow and they still shared a bed because Hope argued he didn't need his own because he and Snow fit perfectly in Snow's.

When Lightning turned seventy she had a fatal heart attack which made Serah take her own life. Snow and Hope were very sad but continued to live until Hope reached the age of 95 and he was told he couldn't throw boomerangs anymore. Consumed by grief, he and Snow planned a double suicide and were buried next to each other.

Today many people visit Hope's grave in Eden's National Cemetery. His grave always gets new boomerangs on it… Right now a little girl in a green plaid, polka-dotted, striped, mess-of-a-dress, placed a boomerang that matched her dress on Hope's grave.

Nora was very proud of her strong son.


End file.
